(09-08-2013, 11:24 AM)Naunet Wrote: There's nothing wrong with pulling certain concepts from a class and using them as a new framework for your character. For example, I'm leveling Antimony as CNJ/WHM and ACN/SCH, but she's not really either of those. She knows a great deal of traditional, more alchemical healing from her decades as her former tribe's healer, as well as some minor magical healing and elemental communing. She is also self-teaching herself arcanum theory, but mostly from an interest of "How does this work and what can I do to it?" Rather than simply learn how to summon a carbuncle, for example, she would want to learn the inner workings of the formulae involved in creating the carbuncle, and then want to figure out how to alter those formulae, how to take them apart and put them back together again, purely out of intellectual curiosity.I agree with this completely. No need to rigidly follow the roles handed out to us on the character creation process. If the fighting style suites you and your character in a rough way, feel fee to take the favored components and run with them. For instance, if your character is a hearty healer--PLD would also be the conclusion I would come to. Sure, you're more a tank when it comes to dungeon crawling, but ICly, you're a healer who can take some punches on the field, but who manly tends to wounds in-battle.
As for your not-paladin character, you could really do whatever you want with a sword-and-board type with a bit of magical understanding. As a merc, I bet having some magical ability to bolster one's self would be especially advantageous as it'd make your character more self-sufficient.
As Nahv'ir said, "Not everyone in the realm would be an adventurer or follow in the footsteps of combat. There have to be merchants, there have to be farmers, etc."
As an example, my character is primarily a merchant. I justify this by focusing heavily on my weaver/botanist jobs. BLM is not a primary identity, but it's something he dabbles in, has affinity for, and has talent for when things get hairy and people need more then their eyebrows singed.
